Hood lock



Dec. 13, 1932. AR U E 1,890,818

HOOD LOCK Filed April 9, 1981 60 48 ira firmawig 1 0 O O O O cum-M1 Patented Dec. 13, 1932 UNITED STATES ANDREW R. LUCIE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO HOOD LOCK Application filed April 9,

The automobile hood lock comprisingthe present invention provides a means whereby the owner of an automobile may automatically lock the engine hood, ordinarily located at the forward part of the vehicle, upon closing of the vehicle door, so that when the vehicle door is looked in its closed position access either to the interior of the vehicle compartment or to the engine compartment is impossible. The hood lock is so designed that access may be had to the engine compartment underneath the hood only when the vehicle door is open and consequently it is not necessary to lock the vehicle door to lock the hood against opening, it being suflicient simply that the vehicle door be closed by providing a concealed locking arrangement. Thus a contemplative thief or a person bent upon mischief, even though he knows of the existence of a hood lock, will be unable to open the hood of the vehicle so long as the door remains closed, whether it be locked or not.

Toward these ends the invention contemplates the provision of a concealed hood look ing device located underneath the hood, preferably on the hood sills, and adapted normal 1y to maintain the hood in closed osition, there being a connection between t e hood locking device and the vehicle door so con-v structed that upon opening of the vehicle door the hood lock is released to permit opening of the hood, but adapted when the ve hicle door is closed to positively lock the hood against opening.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a hood locking device that apart from its locking features acts as a hood check and holder to prevent rattling of the hood against its sill and also to prevent the hood from accidentally slamming violently upon the sill. The device also serves to prevent rebound of the hood from the sill by yieldingly holding the hood tightly shut against the same.

Convenience of arrangement of parts, ruggedness and consequent durability, simplicity of construction, and comparative ineX pense of manufacture are further desirable features that have been borne in mind in the development and construction of the invention. Other. objects of the invention not at this time more particularly enumerated will become more readily apparent from a study of the novel features of the invention and. from the arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying single sheet of drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view taken transversely through the hood locking device, showing the same attached to the hood sill of an automotive vehicle.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View similar to Fig. 1, showing the hood in a partially open position.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the hood locking device.

Fig. 4: is a fragmentary perspective view showing a cooperative locking element secured to the inside of the hood, and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of a portion of an automotive vehicle showing the hood locking device attached thereto. In this view certain parts are broken away to more clearly reveal the nature of the invention. 7

In all of the above described views, like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts throughout.

In the drawing, reference numeral 19 designates generally an automotive vehicle having an engine hood 12 provided with the usual lifting handle 13. The hood sill is shown at 14:- and is in the form of a substantially flat horizontal surface to which is attached one or more. of the hood locking instrumentalities.

These hood locking instrumentalities comprise a U-shaped bracket 16, best shown in Fig. 4. This bracket is secured to the inner side'of the hood adjacent the bottom thereof by welding, riveting, or the like. Cooperate ing with the bracket 16 is a hood looking and checking assembly. This assemblycomprises a metallic casing 18 which may be conveniently formed of a single piece of sheet metal folded upon itself to provide the parallel side walls 20, the lower ends of which are turned outwardly at right angles as shown at 22, and are provided with holes for the reception of bolts 24 for securing the casing in position on the sill 1 1.

The central portion 26 which connects the two side portions 20 is provided with an in wardly turned flange 28 which serves for the connection with a spring to be herein after more fully described. The bracket retaining device is preferably comprised of two parallel crescent shaped arms 30 which are connected together by suitable transverse pins 82 and are pivotally connected to the side walls 20 by means of rivets 34, or the like. A spring 36 is provided within the casing and one end of this spring is connected to an aperture 38 in the flange 28, while the other end of the spring is connected to one of the pins 32, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. It will be seen that the relation of this pin 32 to the pull of the spring and to the rivets is such that when the hood is open and the bracket 16 removed from its encompassing position around the casing 18 the crescent shaped arms 30 are pulled back against the wall 26 of the casing, in which position the ends 10 project across the path of the central portion of the bracket 16. Upon closing of the hood the central portion of the bracket 16 will contact with the projecting ends 40 with sufiicient force to cause the crescent shaped members 30 to rock until the pin 32 to which the spring is connected has crossed the dead center. The spring will then continue the motion of the arms 30 causing them to pass over the central portion of the bracket 16 and force the bracket 16 downwardly to cause the hood 12 to be firmly clamped against the casing. In order to lock the hood in closed position the walls 18 of the casing are provided with aligned apertures 42 through which there extends a. locking bar 44. This bar is in the form of a rectangularly shaped metal rod having a cutaway portion 16 formed therein. The location of the aligned apertures 42 is such that when the locking bar 44 extends through these aligned apertures with the cut-away portion occupying a position within the casing, the ends 40 of the crescent shaped members 30 are free to swing through this cut-away portion to either of their former positions. Sliding movement of the bar 44, however, to cause the solid portion 48 of the bar to enter the casing will present an obstruction to the movement of the ends 40 of the arms 30 and, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, it is impossible to swing the crescent shaped members about their pivotal axes. Thus when the bracket 16 is contained within the boundary of the crescent shaped members 30 and the sill the hood can not be lifted from its locked position. When the bar 18, however, is slid through the aligned apertures 42 so that the cut-away portion 46 is contained within the casing the ends 40 of the crescent shaped members 30 are free to swing outwardly and upon lifting of the hood the central portion of the brackets 16 will swing the crescent shaped members 30 until the pin 32 to which the spring 36 is attached again passes its dead center position and rests against the portion 26 of the casing 18.

One or more of the locking devices may be employed, and in Fig. 5 there are shown two of these locking devices, one of which is designated generally at 50 and the other at 51. The deviceshown at 50 is substantially the same as the device described in connection with Figs. 1, 2, 3, and l, except that in this instance the locking bar let is omitted and the device serves simply as a hood check and holder. The device 51, however, is operatively connected to the vehicle door 2 in such a manner that when the vehicle door is closed the locking device is in its operative position to hold the hood against opening. Toward this end the locking bar 48 has secured centrally thereto one end of the spring 54, the other end of which spring is secured to a lug 56 on the casing 18. The spring 5 1 normally holds the obstruct'on portion 48 of the locking bar in the position where it will limit the swinging movement of the crescent shaped arms 30. The bar 44 is provided with an eye 58 to which is secured one end of a cable 60. The other end of the cable is secured in any suitable manner to the door 52 at a point remote from its pivotal axis 62. Thus upon opening of the door the look ing bar 44 will slide to the position shown in Fig. 3 where the cutaway portion 56 is contained within the casing. In this open position of the door the parts of the locking device are in such position that the door may be opened simply by lifting the handle 13. lVhen the door is closed, however, the locking bar 14, being acted upon by the spring 5 1, slides longitudinally through the apertures so that the obstruct ng portion 48 of the bar is contained within the casing.

In the accompanying drawing the locking instrumentalities for one side of the hood have been shown and it will be readily understood that the other side of the hood may be similarly locked, the cable 60 connecting the locking bar 4A- with the door 52 and extend ing to the other door at a point remote from its pivotal axis. Thus when access is desired to either side of the hood compartment the respective door to which the locking devices are attached must be opened. It will also be obvious that when the door is closed and locked in. its closed position, so is the hood, on the particular side on which the respective door is located, locked also.

The invention is not limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying single sheet of drawing or described in th s specification, as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention. Only in so far as the invention has been particularly pointed out in the accompanying claims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. The combination with an automotive vehicle having a hood, sill therefor and a door, of a locking device secured to the sill, a movable member forming a part of said locking device and normally and yieldingly engaging the hood to hold the same against rattling, a locking element movable into the path of movement of said member to prevent disengagement o1 the member with the hood, and a connection between said locking ele ment and the door to effect movement of the locking element out of the path of movement of said member to permit opening of the hood when the door is opened.

2. The combination with an automotive vehicle having a hood, a sill therefor and a door, of a yielding member normally engage able with the hood to hold the same against rattling on said sill, a locking element movable into the path of movement of said member to prevent disengagement of said member with the hood and means operable upon opening of the door of the vehicle to move said element out of the path of movement of said member to permit opening of the hood.

8. The combination, with avehicle having a hood and door, of a bracket of sheet metal positioned within the hood and having parallel sides and angularly turned portions forming securing flanges, a pivoted catching and retaining device comprising crescent shaped parallel arms having their intermediate portion pivotally connected to the sides of the bracket, a pin connecting said parallel arms and a spring extending between said pin and the bracket, a locking element movable into and out of the path of movement of said parallel arms, and means operable upon opening of the door of the vehicle to move the locking element out of the path of movement of the said arms to permit opening of the hood.

4. The combination, with a vehicle having a hood and door, of a sheet metal bracket positioned within the hood and having parallel sides, a crescent shaped arm having its intermediate portion pivoted between said sides, a sp 'ing extending between the bracket and the arm and tending to swing the arm toward the limit of its movement in either direction across a dead center position, a locking element movable into and out of the path of movement of said arm, and means operable upon opening of the door of the vehicle to move the locking element out of the path of movement of the said arms to permit opening of the hood.

5. The combination with an automotive vehicle having a hood, a sill therefor and a door, of a sheet metal bracket secured to said sill and having parallel sides, a crescent shaped arm having its intermediate portion pivoted between said sides, said arm normally engaging the hood to hold the same yieldingly against its sill, a spring extending between the bracket and said arm and tending to swing it toward the limit of its movement in either direction across a dead center, a locking element movable into and out of the path of movement of said arm, said element being connected to the vehicle door at a point remote from its pivotal axis, and means operable upon opening of the door of the vehicle to move the locking element out of the path of movement of the said arms to permit opening of the hood.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature.

ANDREl V R. LUCIE. 

